Torture of Weakness
by Valkyrie Celes
Summary: FFVI pregame.  General Celes Chere did many things for her Emperor, many things she took pride in.  One of those things, was torturing captive Returners for information.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VI/III, any of it's people, places or things. It all belongs to Square Enix/Square co. /Squaresoft. Must I continue writing this? Doing so makes me curl up into a little ball in the corner and begin to sob!**

**Author's Notes: I got this idea when I was reading Celes' profile. It says her dislikes are weak males (as if we didn't already know that) so I wanted to write something that expressed that. I've had this on my computer for a long time and hadn't finished it, so today I finally did. I hope you guys like it, because I enjoyed writing it.**

**Torture of Weakness**

She glided down the halls of the large fortress, each step rhythmic and in sync. Her boots clicked against the cobblestone as she made her way through the fortress to her destination.

This woman was a beauty beyond compare; snow white hair which cascaded down her back. It looked to be as soft as silk, but no man dared to touch it to confirm that rumor. She had milky, pale skin which clashed with the building's dark hues. Her petite form, her curvy figure. Her delicate hands and rosy lips.

You would think that this woman was merely an imperial maiden which dwelled in these walls; but she was far from it. She was an imperial general, a warrior who fought alongside her troops. She was one of the most respected of generals, for she had immense strength.

But many still did not respect her, for she was not of their gender. They could never show their disgust towards the woman, for her sapphire gaze brought death to any who defied her. If possible, this woman, this young woman was the fiercest, most powerful soldier in the Imperial army. The combination of her magical gifts and physical ability brought any who opposed her to their knees.

It was a normal day for the general; train, train and train some more. Then, she was to go down to the dungeons, to deal with certain prisoners. You see, there was a certain resistance group known as the Returners who opposed her liege. Many of them dwelled in Vector, to her disgust, and tried their hardest to slow the progress of her Emperor's ambitions. But of course, as in any organization, there were the weak links in the chain of command; the grunts who were merely sent to do recon, or collect information. Some were very crafty; there was one man who could simply not be caught, no matter how hard they tried. The Imperial troops only knew him by the brief image they saw as he darted off into the night. They all knew this infiltrator by his bandanna; that was the only thing that made him stick out from the crowd.

But other spies, like this certain prisoner, were not as stealthy as the Bandanna Man. This man, was a very weak link indeed. It was these weak links in the Returners forces that the Empire thrived on; they would capture them, and torture them until they received the information they desired. Otherwise, these spies would be granted death.

It was part of this lady general's routine to go the the dungeons and interrogate these spies. Part of her duty to the Emperor to destroy any who opposed his will. She was ordered specifically to speak to the prisoners; she remembered vividly the Emperor's conversation with her concerning this matter.

---

"I need you to interrogate these rebels General."

"Yes my liege, but May I ask why you ask this of me? There are surely more qualified people to do such an honor."

"I do not think so. You have a knack for torture. No, you will be perfect for this task General. Any Returners who are to be captured are to be interrogated by you."

"Yes sir."

---

And so it was her duty. So she would venture to the dungeons every day to complete her daily chores. There were many Returners who were captured, so she would find herself in the dungeons frequently.

She had reached the dungeons in which the spies were held. Two senturies stood in front of the doors; they saluted once she arrived.

"General, good to see you once more," one said. The woman nodded.

"Aye. So tell me guard, do we have a live one today?"

"Yes General, he is very lively. He keeps on complaining about the conditions down here. His demeanor is so smug too," the guard smirked. "I can't wait for you to smack that right outta him."

"Neither can I," she responded coolly. "Now open the door."

The sentries nodded. The two men stepped aside, one opening the door for the woman. It closed with a loud noise resonating through the damp cell.

The room was dim, only a lantern illuminating the darkness. It wreaked of urine and a scent that she could not describe. Rats scampered across the floor, swiftly disappearing from view in fear of their demise.

The room was large, despite its conditions. The woman looked ahead at her new prey.

She could not see his frame in its entirety; but she could already see he was defeated. His head hung low, his arms dangling in the the air confined by chains. His skin was pale, he looked to be ill-nourished. Even from this distance, she could see that he was frail and thin.

_Perfect. _She thought, _this one will be much fun to break._

She strode towards the man, confidence in her every step. She was soon upon him, her shadow covering the man in darkness.

The man looked up abruptly. His expression was filled with utter shock.

"Who're you, an angel?" was his hoarse reply.

The General smiled sweetly. She nodded her head.

"Yes, I am," she quickly darted her hand forward. It clasped onto the man's neck.

"The angel of death."

---

The man gasped for air as the woman tightened her grip. His breathing was labored as his chocolate eyes welled with tears. The General's sapphire eyes glared at the man with daggers.

"Tell me all you know about the Returners. I know you're a spy, so you can either tell me what you know, or die right now. Nod your head if you wish to tell me the information you know of."

The man swiftly nodded his head. She released her grip.

He gasped for air, his entire body was shaking involuntarily. The woman looked on in disgust.

"Your shaking? Just from a choke hold? How pathetic. Why are you even part of the Returners, they seem much stronger than you. Did you just join so you could try and become a man?"

"Silence…wench," the man spat between breaths. "I…I…"

"If there's nothing I hate more," she continued. Her voice was taunting and harsh. "It's a weak man. Why don't you just run home to your Mommy, then perhaps she can take care of you then. That's all you'll be doing the rest of your life, depending on all of the women around you to take care of you."

"I said silence!" the man had retrieved his breath. He was frightened of this girl, but would not back down. His pride was far greater than his fear.

"You act so tough," his voice was shaking. "Why do you think you have such authority over me wench?"

The woman cackled. It was a laugh void of emotion, which pierced the man's heart like a blade of ice. After the laughter subsided, she stepped back a few paces.

"You want to know of my authority," she hissed. "I'll show you what gives me such authority."

She held out her palm. With little concentration, she formed a miniature glacier in her hand.

The prisoner's eyes widened. He tried to back away from the witch, but was already as far away from her as possible. She grimaced.

"What's the matter, you knew not of my abilities?" she cooed. "Perhaps now you will tell me what I wish to know."

"Witch," he whispered. "I will tell you nothing, I mean, I know nothing of—"

The woman flicked her wrist. Cold air formed around the man's hand. He shrieked in pain as his hand swiftly froze over completely.

His eyes welled up in pain. He looked at his assailant with horrified eyes.

"You…please…don't…"

"Where are the Returners stationed?" she asked. She was completely ignoring the man's cries.

"I…please stop…"

"What, you want me to stop?"

"Yes…please…" tears began to stream down his face. The General scoffed.

She walked up to the man once more. She put her hands on the tears that formed rivers down his cheeks.

"You want me to stop?" she whispered in his ear. The man nodded hastily.

"Are you begging me to stop?"

He nodded again.

"Your begging a woman, your supposed inferior to stop?"

"Yes…"

"Do you want to know something?"

The man nodded, hoping that the woman would spare him.

"I hate weak men."

With that, she froze the tears on his cheeks. The man howled out in pain.

"Now will you tell me the Returners where abouts?" she snarled. The man said nothing.

"Will you tell me the Returners where abouts," she said slower this time. The man was silent.

"Very well then, you wish for pain."

She unsheathed a dagger. The witch swiftly slammed it against the man's frozen hand. It shattered on impact.

The man cried out; as if the demons from hell had possessed his soul. His howl echoed through the damp cell.

The echo faded long after the screams stopped. His eyes filled with utter terror as he looked at the ice queen.

"You…you witch…"

"Are you calling me a witch?" she taunted once more. "Is that what you think, that I'm a witch?"

The man nodded his head. He mustered all of his strength to glare at the woman with his horror struck eyes. The woman merely scoffed.

"You look at me with such insolence," she hissed once more. "Perhaps your sight should be next to go."

"No!" the man replied urgently. A smug smile graced the woman's lips.

"Very well then, I will spare you if you tell me where the Returners are stationed. Perhaps all you will lose from this endeavor is one hand."

"I will tell you nothing witch," the man snarled through clenched teeth. He was trying to hide his pain; an act that failed. The General's icy eyes fell upon his own.

"But your in so much pain, it would be far less painful if you simply tell me what you know," she responded sweetly. An innocent smile replaced her harsh one. The man looked at the girl in shock.

"What are you, some twisted freak? What did the Empire do to you?"

She said nothing to the man's questions. Her gaze focused on her hands. She looked to be in deep thought; the man hoped that she would spare him now. But his hopes were in vain as the woman looked at him once more and walked up to him.

She leaned into the man's ear, to whisper into it once more.

"I will get no information from you, will I," she concluded. No question was in her tone.

The man nodded his head fiercely as he felt two of her cold fingertips press against his neck.

"I'll tell you what you wish to know, just let me live," he pleaded. Her eyes filled with disgust.

"If there's one thing I hate in this entire world, it's weak men."

Threads of blue energy shot from her fingertips. She moved away from the man's ear as he shrieked in pain, ice encompassing his body. He cried out until the glades of ice encircled him in a glacier. The General removed her fingers from his neck.

She looked at her handy work with a satisfied expression. The woman walked around the frozen Returner, examining his horrified expression. She smirked.

"No need to leave him here, he won't do anyone any good just sitting here. Besides, he'll waste space. I'd like to find someone who is far more entertaining to take his place."

She strode up to the man one last time. With one swift shove, the glacier went tumbling to the ground. Moments later it shattered into tiny shards of ice; no sign of the man's existence left.

She looked down at the shards, they reminded her of snow. Her eyes glistened with glee as the shards danced in the dim light of the prison cell. A few moments later, she sheathed her dagger and left the room.

The two sentries who stood watch grinned at the General when she left. They saluted her respectfully.

"We heard his cries General, another job well done. I only wish we could have seen what you were doin' to him, sounds like it was fun."

"It was," she replied softly. "You can watch the next one."

"Your too kind General. Whilst you were dealing with the Returner a message came. The Emperor wishes to see you as soon as your done here."

"Very well."

She left the confines of the hallway, heading towards her lieges chambers.


End file.
